If you were thinking about Hanukkah-themed ice cream, you would probably assume a jelly donut-infused flavor would be the obvious go-to: tiny chunks of donuts, maybe some cinnamon sugar, and a dash of sweet raspberry jam. But Smitten Ice Cream decided to go where no Jew, or non-Jew, had gone before: latkes and applesauce ice cream.
Yes, Smitten Ice Cream, a San Francisco-based ice cream company, has released a holiday ice cream flavor called “latkes & applesauce.” It’s a vanilla base ice cream with real latkes from Wise & Sons (a San Fran-based deli) and homemade applesauce. It’s literally potato latke and applesauce ice cream.
When we first heard about the flavor, we thought it was pretty adventurous — but possibly quite gross. So there as only one thing to do: try it.
When I had the chance to taste it, I thought it was delightful — a Hanukkah miracle, perhaps? The ice cream base was super creamy, and I didn’t feel hit over the head with fried potato flavor. It really was just a hint of savory latke-ness, complete with the fresh applesauce. It kind of tasted like what would happen if you put a scoop of ice cream on top of a latke. And honestly, I was into it.
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But some of my colleagues weren’t quite so keen on the unique ice cream flavor, and had a lot of opinions. A lot.
“There was a lingering raw potato taste,” one stated, and not as a good thing.
“My mouth was confused,” shared one Rachel (we are a Jewish office, so seven different women are named Rachel). “I feel traumatized.”
“My experience was like the bottom of the bag of day-old french fries with very mediocre ice cream, and the apples were too in your face,” shared the one colleague not named Rachel.
One more added, “I really wanted to like it, but it made my mouth sad.”
Well, none of them are full-time, professional food writers like I am, so take their comments with a grain of salt. I thought the ice cream was excellent and really fun at a time of year when everything else is all chocolate peppermint crunch and gingerbread (not that there’s anything wrong with those).
If you have an adventurous spirit and palette, I highly recommend you give it a try. The latkes & applesauce ice cream is available at all five locations of Smitten Ice Cream in the San Francisco Bay area through January 8, 2020.
